[Canterlot] A Griffin In a Crowd of Ponies [Open]

[Conor Colton]

Colton leaned slightly on a railing overlooking the ice covered lake, he didn't mean to be rude or abandon his company, he just need time to think about a few things is all. He wasn't that used to being around kids either so it may have been awkward for him to participate in what his group was doing. He was still thinking when his thoughts were interrupted by Holly asking him to join them.

Even though Colton wasn't sure of the idea but he didn't want to seem rude or discourteous so he took Holly up on her offer. He stopped leaning on the railing and began to walk back to the group, whilst responding to Holly, "Sorry Holly, I didn't mean any disrespect, it's just......" Colton considered if it was alright to tell the unicorn what he was thinking about, he came to the conclusion that it was though and promptly voiced his thoughts, "Seeing how you and Gladwin are around each other...just got me thinking about this....uh... particular...mare." Colton said as he felt good telling the truth.

He looked over at Gladwin entertaining the foals and couldn't help but chuckle, "Besides, I wouldn't want to cramp his style...the kids love that big guy....But I got a few stories up my sleeve too." Colton said as he reached into his pocket and took out a travel journal he kept with him at almost all times.

[knight]

Holly smiled warmly at Colton, she, strangely, did not feel embarrassed by being the 'couple' object that he referred to when thinking of the mare he liked, "Ah'm happy fur ya. Ah think whoever she is...she's one lucky mare, y'know?"

She winked at him, and wrapped a hoof over his shoulder in a friendly gesture, "Ah'm sure glad ta have ya as mah friend...Ah think...any mare would be lucky ta have ya."

She gave a crooked grin and peeked at the journal he took out of his pocket, "Now, Ah think me and them foals alike would like ta hear yer story!"

She trotted off at a cheerful, bouncy canter, back to the foals that the griffon had just finished showing off to.

"HOLD ON thar, lil' foals!" The kids stopped in their tracks, one tripped and fell in the sand. They looked back at Holly with wide eyes, "Ya think this Griffon has stories?! HA! Did HE place in this year's Running of the Leaves?!?!"

She posed boldly, one hoof raised, "Ah didn't think so!"

The foals shuffled back towards them, enthralled by Holly's bragging, "So thar Ah was--"Their eyes glistened intently, totally drawn in to her dramatic storytelling, "Me against a hundred-no-a THOUSAND other ponies--and Ah was in the lead! Ah had a steady gallop out in front o' the pack, but all of a sudden....a big...mean...nasty...scary....huge...EVIL...SHE-GRIFFON appeared! She was set on winnin' that race by any means necessary even--get this--" the foals leaned in closer, "--even CHEATIN'."

The foals gasped and looked at eachother before returning their focus to Holly, "Ah had no choice, as Ah saw her bullyin' them ponies behind me--Ah knew what Ah had to do! So, Ah swallowed mah pride and Ah. Went. BACK."

"But, miss, how you gonna win the race if you go back?!" A little pink filly bounced up and down, her eyes wide with concern.

"Hold yer horses, lil' missy.This tale is long from over," Holly grinned a cocky grin, flashing the filly a wink that told her that all would be cool, "Ah had to save them ponies, ya see! So Ah went back--and on mah way there, Ah tripped!"

The foals seemed confused by a fuddle up being in a story.

"And Ah smacked right into that griffon!" the foals gasped, eyes wide in fear, "Ah thought fur sure she was gonna gobble me up right thar--but was Ah afraid?....HECK, NO! Ah'm a tough pony, Ah was born 'n raised with gfiffons she didn't scare me none--and she thought she was gonna beat me in the race! She took off so fast..."

Holly continued to tell her story exuberantly, enthralled in the eyes of the foals, completely oblivious to the ponies around her.

"And then she....a ROCKSLIDE!!....thought I was DOOMED!!...STUCK in a trap of SAP!!....then, Applejack came to my rescue!....Ah ran faster than Ah ever run before!!....Back in FIRST place!..." As she neared the end of her tale, she magicked out a small pouch from her cart, "And y'know what? Ah didn't win that race, but Ah beat that mean ol' griffon, an' Ah hope she learned the lesson Ah did that day."

She magicked from the pouch the bronze medallion on it's thick lanyard, and the foals ooh'ed and aah'ed, "It ain't about winnin', y'see? It's about who ya are, and bout bein' a good pony--or, in her case, a good griffon."

The foals giggled.

She smiled at the foals, now sporting her 3rd place medal proudly, "And that's how Ah--almost--won the runnin' o' tha leaves...Now...anyone else gotta story, or are we gonna play tag?"

She beamed widely, proud of her story.

[Imagination]

Sketch at first had a VERY confused look at Gladwin's question, but coming out of his lapse of focus he realized he was asking about Holly, not him. "Oh. Well I suppose so... I mean I do believe in 'there's somepony out there for everypony'. That, and sometimes things just seem to... come together without much explanation other than it felt right... so yes, I do believe in love at first sight..."

After a pause he watched Holly return, chuckling at the theatrics as she boasted about winning the Running of the Leaves. "I'll bet she feels the same way, Gladwin. In fact, I'm certain of it." Of course in terms of relationship advise, he couldn't give any as he had never been in a relationship before... nor really have all that much experience with the fairer sex, though that fact didn't bother him much. When he was ready, he was sure he'd find a nice mare to spend time with.

For now, h opted to listen to Holly's stories and possibly even Colton's for when he came back over to the group.

[CrossStitch]

Gladwin listened closely to Holly's story, and he couldn't shake the feeling that he knew who she was talking about. He passed the thought off as un-important though, and instead refocused on the mare. He glanced over every portion of her, her multi-colored mane, her tail, her Strawberry cutie mark. He shook his head, realizing he was staring. He broke the awkwardness with a laugh though, turning to Sketch, "Maybe..." He said, and then turned back to Holly, "Maybe..."

Gladwin then realized Colton was missing, "Hey, where's Colton?" He asked, looking back and forth.

[Conor Colton]

Colton rejoined the group with his travel journal still in his hoof, he felt a particular 'eagerness' to tell some of the foals of his exploits. He approached the foals and Holly and responded to the unicorn's last statement, "Hold your horses there Holly, you don't think I'd let you guys have all the fun of telling stories to the kids, and not let me have a fair shake at it?" Colton said as he whistled and Sparks returned to his side and perched himself on Colton's shoulder.

"Now kids...this little guy is Sparks, I'm sure you know him, he was just playing tag a second ago." Colton said as began to skim through the journal in hopes of finding a good story. When he found an appropriate page he began to recall an adventure from his past, "See kids, we may not look it, but Sparks and me have been going on adventures for years." Colton stated his declaration proudly as he turned and showed the book to the kids. After a collective of 'Ooh's' and 'Ah's' Colton started to tell the story.

"One of these adventures had me and Sparks in Ponyville." He stated as he cleared his throat for his upcoming tale, "We were hired by a very important pony to retrieve a very special jewel." Colton said as he held out a picture of a large, red diamond, "The Dragon's Eye he called it, he said it was located at the top of every dragon's treasure pile and he sent me and Sparks to an abandoned cave to get it."

Colton smirked at Sparks as he continued, "But...when we got there...the cave wasn't as 'abandoned' as we were told." Colton said as he took a meaningful pause before continuing, "There was a dragon in that cave......The biggest, most ferocious dragon you would ever see." Colton said as he jumped up and made gestures to explain further to the kids. "It had wings that could blot out the sun, claws so sharp they could tear through solid rock, and teeth like razor blades, just ready to tear through me and Sparks here."

"What happened next mister?" Said a little mare at the front of the audience.

"Well kiddo, this dragon was still asleep when we got there. We carefully climbed it's treasure pile and got what we came for.....But we woke him up when we did." Colton said as he couldn't help but chuckle, "Me and Sparks only got away by the skin of our wings and we managed to bring the Dragon's eye back." The pegasus looked once again at the bird as he recalled the next part.

"But the pony who hired us had a problem with the Eye when we brought it back. Apparently there was a scratch on it and he said he wasn't going to pay us. So what did Sparks do? This little guy went nuts and completely wrecked this guys house, all his antiques busted, all his collectables, ruined. And when the guards came around, they didn't believe him when said 'A bird did it."

There was a collective clapping and giggling from the foals as Colton marched proudly over to Gladwin and Sketch, ".......What?....That was a true story." Colton said as he couldn't help but laugh.

[knight]

Holly laughed robustly at the end of Colton's story, "This little guy did THAT?!" She pointed at the little bird, giggling furiously, "What a little brat! Why, Iffen I ever had a pet, I'd pluck it's feather's dry if it got me in trouble like that!"

She was still giggling as she spoke, and tears were at her eyes, "A bird....wreckin' a shop! BWAHAHAHHAHAHA!!" This was one of those moments where a laugh was contagious. As Holly laughed so riotously, the general laughter of the audience members doubled just because she was laughing so hard. And Holly couldn't stop laughing because she was being laughed with, and it only made everything seem funnier. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she rolled on the ground, reduced to silent giggles and 'pffffts' as the rest of the audience settled down.

"Ahhh....that is too rich," Holly sat up, her cheeks rosy as she rubbed the tears from her eyes, and sighed, her laughter and tickly tummy finally settling down. She bounced up to her feet, "Well....Ah suppose....." She reached out suddenly and smacked a hoof on Sketch's shoulder, "TAG, YOU'RE IT!!"

She and the foals went squealing back to the playground. And...there were more of them? It would seem from all the story telling, a small crowd had gathered, and now fillies and colts were abundant on the playground, all laughing and playing and climbing up the playground equipment, pointing and giggling at the 'it' pony.

[Imagination]

Sketch jumped something awful when he was tagged, surprised by the sudden contact. Though he regained his bearings pretty quickly, just in time to realize that this had become quite a big game indeed. The pointing and giggling of the foals didn't bother him at all. He knew it was all in good fun!

He wore a playful devilish smile as he took off after the fillies and colts, sending them scattering away with playful screams. But who to tag? He knew he could easily catch up to any of the younger ones, but he didn't want it to be unfair. He saw one filly hiding behind a slide and went after her. Of course, he had no intention of catching her. Purposely, he reared up as if he were going to pounce, and when he leapt and reached out, he made sure to give the filly enough time ti sprint away and dodge him, running toward the main group and giggling. Of course for additional entertainment, he pretended to lose his balance upon landing and flop to the ground.

Picking himself up and fixing his glasses, he started after the little ones again, all of them scattering again and giggling still at his clumsy display. "Ooo, I'm gonna get one of you!" he said as he pursued them. Though soon he was being flagged down by a little white pegasus. At first he thought it was a 'come and get me' sort of taunt, but was surprised to hear the little filly call out. "Mister! Tag me, tag me!". She didn't seem to be going anywhere, even as he approached. Eventually Sketch did tag her, and the spunky little pegasus fluttered her wings and took off after her friends, who shouted "Dove's it! Run!!"

While there was a new 'it', Sketch took the 'no tag backs' opportunity to catch his breath, taking deep breaths and sitting down. "Whew! I... never realized... how out of shape I am..." he told his friends with a grin.

[CrossStitch]

Gladwin saw the little filly who was tagged take to the skies, impressed that the little one could fly. Gladwin hovered near the ground, just around where the little filly was, and lazily glided to and fro and away from her, always staying just out of reach. He felt something get his tail though, and he turned to find the Filly holding his tail in her mouth, "Tagf! Youf if!" She said before spitting out his tail and then taking off in the other direction. "Cheeky little..." Gladwin said as he took his tail in his talon and straightened out the fur. He was giggling though, and actually having a fun time. His wings gave a strong beat upwards as he shot to the sky and looked down, surveying the group below them.

Holly? It'd be unfair. Sketch? He looked beat. Gladwin then nodded as a devious smile began to overtake his face. He then went into a nose dive toward Colton.

[Conor Colton]

Colton looked around casually at the group, he couldn't help but laugh at everyone's care-free attitude. He continued to look around slowly until he felt a familiar tugging on his ear, it was from Sparks, "Huh?...What is it buddy?" Sparks frantically pointed skyward at the incoming griffin, "What are you so worked up ab-" Colton cut himself off as he saw the incoming Gladwin.

"Oh Horse apples!" Colton yelped as he flew in the opposite direction. As the griffin gave chase Colton decided he should get into the spirit of things. But when he turned around he noticed Gladwin wasn't alone, in fact he was joined by a group of pegasus foals, all chasing Colton.

Colton was keeping a steady distance from the group as he decided to give some playful smack talk, "All those feathers without any speed huh?" He shouted to the group as he dove to gain speed and accelerated through the sky.

[knight]

Holly giggled as she watched the foals that were able to fly and Gladwin chase after Colton. She trotted along the swinging bridge of the playground, followed by a couple foals who stuck close to her, as kids tend to when big kids are around. Holly laughed at that thought. That's pretty much what they were, weren't they? Just big kids in a little playground.

"HUH-WOAH!" Holly ducked as Colton suddenly swooped low to the playground, evading Gladwin with a grin. She popped her head back up and watched him fly off, looking back just in time to see his chaser and a few pegasus foals fly right into her, "WAAAAHHH!!"

She couldn't help but laugh as she, the griffon, and the foals all fell in a heap to the floor. She supposed that made her it, didn't it? She looked up, and for a brief moment, had a deep eye contact with the griffon, but was quick to cough and roll away from him, off to chase after Colton, who had still yet to be it, "Ah'mma get you, Colton!" She called up to the still in the sky pegasi. He still seemed cocky about evading Gladwin.

As he flew, she used her magic to pull out a branch right in front of him, and send him spiralling to the ground. She walked up to him, stuck her tongue out, and tapped him on the nose, "YOU are IT."

She flipped her tail at him and walked off, head high.

[Imagination]

Sketch had managed to catch his second wind, standing back up again with a huff, looking around to see who was it as he rejoined the main group of foals. Though he noticed Holly walking away from Colton, declaring he was it! He had to think of something clever...

Running to his bag, he quickly took out a piece of paper and a pencil. What was he going to do, draft a declaration of surrender to the pegasus? No! He quickly scribbled a silly pony face on it, big enough to cover the whole sheet. He then found some string and poked a couple of holes in the sides of the paper, making a makeshift mask. Though he didn't cut any eye-holes, likely on purpose, so he was bumbling around aimlessly with this silly face mask on, leaving the little ponies laughing. To try and make this ingenious disguise work even better, he whistled an innocent tune and greeted the foals like a gentlecolt as he passed them.

"Good day to you, Sir."

"Top of the morning!"

"Don't mind me, madam, just passing through!"

[CrossStitch]

Gladwin looked up watching Colton swoop to avoid him, trying to keep his eyes on his target. He should have kept his eyes on where he was going.

He came crashing to the ground, into Holly, and rolled for a bit adding a few foals to the crash site. Gladwin let out a small groan, unused to the feeling of crashing. He looked around to find a few foals, and Holly tagging Colton. He rolled over onto his paws and began to dust himself off, helping a few of the foals up as well and apologizing, making sure they were all OK. "You alright little guy...? OK, good." He said, helping up the last foal and sending him off on his way. He looked over to Holly, who was now approaching him, trotting away from Colton, "Sorry about that." He said, rubbing the back of his head.

[Conor Colton]

Colton was feeling pretty good that he had managed to outmaneuver the griffin, so much so that he failed to notice himself heading towards a magically extended tree branch. He swerved slightly to avoid it but clipped his wing on it and he spiraled out of control, making a small dirt mound with the force he hit the ground.

The pegasus sat dazed for a moment until he felt a rather odd sensation on his nose. He came back into reality when Holly announced that he was it, he thought to just tag her back until her tail flick caught him off guard and disorientated him slightly. When he composed himself he saw Holly strutting back over to Gladwin proudly, You guys are such big kids.... He thought to himself as he smiled, They're so made for each other.... He thought as his mind drifted back to the other girl he had mentioned earlier to Holly.

He snapped out of this state when he noticed Gladwin having to help up all the kids and apologizing to them, this made Colton feel kinda bad as Gladwin was basically cleaning up the mistake he made. He turned to Sparks for a second and spoke to the bird, "Hey buddy...do me a favor..." Colton asked as he gently nudged the bird with the brim of his hoof, "Be it for me would ya?" Colton asked as Sparks raced off to catch some of the kids.

Colton approached Gladwin and Holly, slightly embarrassed and spoke up, "There's no need to apologize buddy, that was all me....I guess I got a bit too cocky..." He said with a disgraced face, "None of the kids are hurt right?" He said concerned as he observed what Sketch was doing. It was obvious that the unicorn tried to craft a poorly made disguise as he was bumping into everypony he saw.

"What in the heck?......Eh, I'm not gonna ask...." He said as he turned back to the griffin and the unicorn.